5 reasons for why Customer is the KING!

Written by: Vivek Jaiswal | Co-founder, Customer Guru

Customer Experience Management is emerging as a contemporary faculty; however, managing the customer’s experience has been a business practice since times immemorial. The most successful businesses that have survived the test of time and are still thriving in a fast-paced competitive market are a testimony to the fact that being customer focused is the only sustainable way of growing a business. Iconic businessmen such as Ceaser Ritz, J.N. Tata, Henry Ford, Kiichiro Toyoda and many others from around the world, all stood by the saying: ‘Customer is the King’!

I am sharing a modern-day perspective on why the customer is the king, even today:

1. Customers today are omnipotent

Today’s customers are all powerful. They are certain of what they need and will not accept anything less than the best. Furthermore, the internet-connected world has given them the power to express their views about any product. These views, either positive or negative, spread like wildfire! No, you wouldn’t want to displease people who have so much power!

2. The Customer has a LOT of other options!

The internet didn’t just make it easy for customers to express their opinions; it has also opened a myriad of options for them to buy from. Almost everything is now available at the mere click of a button! A product will not work if it does not appeal to the customer because there are a greater number of alternatives in the market than ever before.

3. Without the customer, there is no company.

Companies cannot ignore the power of the customer. Without them, there will be no one to pay the salaries. No matter how huge an organization, it needs customers to survive. One of the greatest entrepreneurs of all time, Henry Ford, very rightly said:

It’s not the employer who pays the wages. Employers only handle the money. It’s the customer who pays the wages.

4. The customer can make or break a brand.

Companies spend millions of dollars on advertising and marketing their brand. All these efforts only help in getting a customer acquainted with a brand. If despite the advertising customers don’t love the brand, it is bound to fail. Companies such as Zappos and Dropbox are examples of how customers can make a brand. On the other hand, a brand such as AOL was killed because customers very dissatisfied with its service.

5. The customer determines what product/service runs.

Consider the case of Kodak, an iconic company that did not react in time to the changes in the market. Although a great organization, Kodak had to shut the doors on many of its business units because it didn’t keep pace with its customers’ changing demands.

I am sure there are several other reasons to prove that customer is the king. I would love to hear more from the readers of this post. Please leave your feedback and comments below.

Customer Experience is the only true differentiator for brands today. It is a very broad…

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Customer Guru is a boutique consulting firm that helps its clients become customer centric. From implementing the best customer experience metric to supporting change management, Customer Guru also read more...